HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow/AP) – Hawaii’s congressional delegation is weighing in after President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. military’s participation in Israel’s attack on Iran.
U.S. and Israeli forces launched a coordinated military attack on Iran Saturday, striking key military targets across the country after nuclear negotiations stalled last week without a deal.
Trump confirmed the attack killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and warned of “heavy and pinpoint bombing” that he said would continue throughout the week and even beyond in order to disable the country’s nuclear capabilities.
MORE: Read President Trump’s statement on Iran in full
In separate statements, Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case, all D-Hawaii, criticized the president for moving forward without congressional authorization and questioned the administration’s strategy.
Sen. Schatz called the strikes “a war of choice and a mistake,” warning it risks the lives of U.S. service members and people in the region.
He said the administration must “de-escalate immediately” and urged Congress to vote, adding “Congress needs to vote and make clear: we will not sign off on another needless war or repeat the deadly mistakes of the past.”
The President’s unilateral decision to strike Iran for purposes of regime change is a clear violation of the Constitution, which gives Congress, not the President, the sole power to declare war. What’s more, this President has not articulated a clear strategy for what comes next.…
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) February 28, 2026
Sen. Hirono called for a vote on Sen. Tim Kaine’s war powers resolution, which would restrain Trump’s military attack on Iran unless the administration wins their approval.
“The President’s unilateral decision to strike Iran for purposes of regime change is a clear violation of the Constitution, which gives Congress, not the President, the sole power to declare war,” she wrote.
MORE: War powers debate intensifies after Trump orders attack on Iran without Congress approval
Rep. Tokuda said, “The Constitution is clear: the power to take this nation to war does not rest with one person alone,” adding that “the human toll abroad and the economic pain at home should never be the price Americans pay for one man’s war.”
This morning, Americans woke to the news that our nation launched large-scale military strikes on Iran. In starting this conflict, President Trump neither sought authorization from Congress nor presented the American people with evidence of an imminent threat that would justify…
— U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (@RepJillTokuda) February 28, 2026
Case acknowledged that Iran’s nuclear weapons program poses a legitimate security threat, stating “there may be circumstances under which war would be our only option.”
However, he emphasized that “as there has been no demonstration of an imminent threat to our country, this action is not authorized and that cannot be ignored.”
Most Republican lawmakers welcomed Trump’s move against Iran. Many cited the longtime U.S. adversary’s nuclear programs and missile capabilities as requiring a military response.
“Well done, Mr. President,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “As I watch and monitor this historic operation, I’m in awe of President Trump’s determination to be a man of peace but at the end of the day, evil’s worst nightmare.”
MORE: World leaders react cautiously to US and Israeli strikes on Iran as fears grow of a wider war
The congressional debate over war powers would mostly be symbolic, according to The Associated Press. Even if a resolution were to pass the narrowly split Congress, Trump likely would veto it and Congress would not have the two-thirds majority needed to overturn that rejection.
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